KC Chiefs: Offensive line situation not much different after 2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft is over and the KC Chiefs added an offensive lineman in the seventh round. With that selection, the Chiefs now have 13 offensive linemen on their roster, but the starting core should be the same for 2019.
When it comes to the NFL, offensive linemen really are the unsung heroes. Rarely do people praise them for keeping their quarterback upright, but boy when they have an off day, the fans sure let them hear it.
The Kansas City Chiefs need to have a solid offensive line now that they have a franchise quarterback to protect. While they didn’t add a starter to put on the line this year (at least that doesn’t appear to be the case), they did add some depth and that’s always welcomed.
After the Chiefs drafted Nick Allegretti in the seventh round, I decided to take a look at the official roster to see just how many offensive linemen the team had at the moment. They have 12 on the active roster and one on the reserve/injured list. Here are those players with their positions (per the Chiefs website) listed next to them:
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- Nick Allegretti – OG
- Laurent Duvernay-Tardif* – OG
- Cameron Erving* – OL
- Eric Fisher* – OT
- Ryan Hunter – OT
- Kahlil McKenzie – OG
- Pace Murphy – OT
- Jimmy Murray – C
- Austin Reiter*- OL
- Mitchell Schwartz* – OT
- Justin Senior – OT
- Andrew Wylie – OT
- Tejon Koroma (Reserve/Injured List) – OL
*=Likely starter in 2019
I went ahead and put asterisks next to the probable starters in 2019, but it’s worth noting that the only one whose job is in jeopardy for this season is Cameron Erving. Erving was a nice pickup from Cleveland two seasons ago, but he did see his fair share of struggles at left guard and that could result in him being replaced when an opportunity presents itself.
Obviously not all of these players will make the cut this summer. The five starters plus Andrew Wylie are probably the only givens and I’d toss rookie Nick Allegretti on that list too since the team spent a draft pick on him this past year.
Let’s break it down by position though, shall we?
At tackle, we know Fisher and Schwartz are going to be at the left and right spots respectively. Schwartz hasn’t missed a single start in his entire career while Fisher started every game last season and only missed one start in 2017.
The backup options leave little to be desired, outside of Wylie of course. Wylie spent time at guard and at center last year, so why he’s only listed at tackle is a bit of a mystery. He could step in and play any position along the line if called upon, making him very important to this team.
At guard, LDT is the man at right guard, even if he did get banged up last year. As I touched on a bit above, Erving could be better, but he also could be a lot worse (remember Mike McGlynn?).
Perhaps the Chiefs plan to get Allegretti up to speed to slot in at left guard someday or maybe Khalil McKenzie will end up panning out (he transitioned from a defensive player to offensive line when the Chiefs drafted him in 2018).
The only player listed as a center on the Chiefs website is Jimmy Murray, but we all know Austin Reiter is getting that job. Mitch Morse is no more in KC, and Reiter stepped up in his absence last year. Wylie can play center as well and even Allegretti could be an option there.
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Most of the players listed above will simply be training camp bodies, but you never know who could surprise us this summer. Wylie certainly was never thought to be much of anything nor was Reiter, but both have put themselves in nice positions for the Kansas City Chiefs.
What do you think of the offensive line situation, Chiefs fans?